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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786232">Grand Cooking Fantasy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tomakoe/pseuds/Tomakoe'>Tomakoe</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cooking, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gonna add more characters just gotta think, I forgot about Io I'm sorry, Other, Wholesome, good vibes, soft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:47:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,978</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24786232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tomakoe/pseuds/Tomakoe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Constructive criticism is always welcomed! It helps me become a better writer and gives you a better reading experience.</p><p>Cooking is awesome.<br/>Granblue Fantasy is also awesome.<br/>I put them together in my brain and spewed this on a google docs.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Katalina's greatest adversary.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Katalina makes stew for the crew of the Grandcypher, this is my first fic so pls go easy on me with the criticism if you have any. Hope you enjoy reading &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Katalina stared down her most ferocious enemy. The kitchen. It’s assortment of pots and pans stood more stalwart and finely crafted than the most ornate and strong blades of her enemies. The aroma’s that came from it more potent than any poison an assassin could craft. She had entered it’s domain on the Grandcypher multiple times and on each occasion, she had been bested by it. Albeit losing here didn’t mean injury or death like it did on the battlefield, it just meant a night of groaning from the other crew members about how they were hungry and snacking on things they found within the pantry. Sometimes they even ate small packages of re-hydrated noodles! It was horrible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The others would cheer her up about these failings however. Gran would mention how she was the only reason they were all here at the moment, Eugen and Rackam would compliment her fighting skills, and Lyria being the sweetheart she was tell Katalina how thankful she was for meeting her. It was sweet, all of it. But at the end of the day it went from something that she wanted to do for the crew into something she wanted to do for herself. How could she call herself a knight if she couldn’t prepare a simple meal without messing up? That was how the path opened up to her determination to be a half decent cook.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Small and trifling victories was the name of the game here. She started simple, putting butter into a pan over the flames and putting a piece of bread onto it to make toast without scorching it. Cracking eggs into a bowl without getting shell into it for a crunch free scrambled egg. She had even learned from Sandalphon how to make coffee! The victories were stacking, and so did her resistance to failure. Now, whenever something went wrong, she would take it in stride! Were the eggs overcooked? She’d take note and cook them for a few seconds less until she got it right. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The crew was starting to notice as well, and they seemed to like it. Days where Katalina cooked dinner turned from groans and moans of incoming disappointment or pretending to like the food, into days where eager smiles awaited plates to be distributed around the table. Things were finally coming together for Katalina’s goal of being able to cook decently, in fact she felt that she had shattered the goal post every time a second serving was asked for.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After reminiscing on her victories and the goodness that came from here in the recent months, she came back to the present where she stood in the doorway of the kitchen and knew what she had to do. The crew went out to explore the island they had landed upon, Sierokarte said that she wanted something, and the rest of the group volunteered to go. Katalina stayed back due to wanting to get some more rest. Now that she was up however, she thought it would be nice to prepare a meal for them when they return. They had only been gone for a few hours, so Katalina felt she had the time to whip up something good for them when they returned. It would have been good practice too, for the first time she was going to try out her own recipe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A stew made with beef shoulder, or what she had come to learn was called chuck. Retrieving it from the icebox, she set it down on  cutting board and got too work. Taking a knife and dicing the meat into cubes before setting them aside and getting a bowl out. She added salt and pepper, along with some flour before putting the meat in and coating the cubes on all sides with the mixture of dry ingredients. Once that was done, she turned on the stove and set one of the largest pans they had on it. She added a little at a time as to not overcrowd the pan, taking extra care to make sure she didn't burn the pieces of meat. Once the first batch was done, on came the second, and then the third. By the time she was done with it, the entire kitchen smelled wonderfully full of meat, it reminded her of a small row of food stands the crew had passed by one time during the Christmas season. A feeling of happiness and warmth filled her spirit as she set the meat aside in a bowl. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the meat done cooking, the bottom of the pan was covered in patches of brown bits. When she first started cooking, she had always washed the pan after this and then went back to cooking, the thought that these oddly colored bits stuck to the bottom of the pan could enhance a meal. However when she spoke to some chefs the crew had encountered they thoughtfully told her that they did in fact help make the meal taste better, you just had to deglaze the pan. It sounded intimidating at first, like learning the fighting style of a new weapon with no prior practice and simply fighting an opponent. The chefs were kind enough to show her how it was done though. Taking a bottle of some fancy red wine she couldn’t even pronounce the name of, she poured a cup of it into the pot and used a wooden spoon to scrape the browned bits off of the bottom. Steam filled the air and the faint scent of alcohol was now wafting its way throughout the room, Katalina didn’t drink much herself so she simply just put it away after this step. Next up was adding beef broth, the beef itself, and some bay leaves. She was told that after doing this it would help to reduce the heat so she did as such, reducing the rolling boil to nothing more than a light simmer that reduced the alcohol and beef stock into a thicker sauce.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next hour and a half was fairly uneventful, reading a book and skimming the scum from the top of the pot was all that captivated her for the time being. After that though came another step, she felt confident though, the recipe so far had gone off without a single hitch! Things were shaping up to be wonderful. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Knife in hand, she stared down the assortment of vegetables that sat before her. Five carrots, one large onion and two large baking potatoes sat in front of her that needed to be chopped up. She brought her knife upon the onion as if it were her beloved rapier and got to work on peeling then dicing them, making sure as to not cut herself as well in the process. It wouldn’t have been a first for her however. Once the dicing of the onion was done, Katalina made her way towards the five carrots, a much more grueling task than slicing her way through the onion. The carrots were harder to deal with since they were slender and needed to be peeled using a peeler, unlike the onion which she just had ripped the skin off of. Once they were done however she added the two vegetables to the pot and simmered them as well along with the tender beef. The kitchen now smelled like heaven as she peeled and diced the potatoes much like the previous vegetables in her path to dominance of the kitchen, once she was done with that she added them to the pot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just as she was done with all of this and relaxing while waiting for the stew to finish cooking, she heard sounds up on the deck of the Grandcypher. Racing up to investigate, she only found her crew-mates who looked less than ideal. Gran’s signature blue sweater was torn and ripped in some places, Lyria’s hair was disheveled and dirty. Katalina couldn’t even begin to fathom what had happened to Eugen and Rackam as the two were covered in copious amounts of mud. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“W-what happened?!” Katalina ran over and tried to fix Lyria’s hair but was surprised to find twigs and leaves mixed within the beautiful cyan colored hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well…” Eugen started with a sigh. “We were tracking a beast for Seirokarte, and we all slipped up.” A sheepish look came across Eugen’s face. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Eugen and Rackam got the worst of it, Lyria and I just ran into some branches.” Gran declared with slumped shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see. Well this is perfect timing!” Katalina roared with a smile while removing some of the twigs from Lyria’s hair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oi, perfect timing that we look all terrible!?” Rackam asked, setting his dirty gun onto the floor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“N-no that’s not what I meant, I’m making something for you all to eat! Eating something nice after defeat makes it feel a little less bad, don’t you know?” Katalina hurried out her response as she turned around. “Clean yourselves up, the food’s gonna be placed around the table!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Katalina made her way down to the kitchen as she heard a collective sigh come from Eugen and Rackam, most likely because they had the most cleaning to do on themselves. She removed the pot’s lid and let the steam rise, careful not to burn herself. Grabbing a ladle and five bowls, she set out to preparing the table. The rest of the crew made their way down and past the kitchen, all making surprised faces at the smells coming past their noses and smiling. A voice could be heard once they all settled into their rooms to clean up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Gran what happened to ‘ya?!” Vyrn’s voice was loud as ever, he had been sleeping the entire time and was awoken by Gran and Lyria’s entrance. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Katalina chuckled to herself, sometimes she felt like the mom of the group. Always making sure everyone was taken care of, even if she couldn’t do it to the best of someone else's ability she had made sure that it was always to the best of her ability. She ladled the stew into the bowls one after another and set them down at the table with spoons. She triumphantly awaited for the crews arrival at the table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they did arrive, she relished their faces of glee and excitement as they spooned bites into their mouths. Things had worked out in the end and the crew had a nice dinner and relaxed, more importantly though, Katalina had accomplished her own firs recipe. More were sure to follow in time, but she took enjoyment that night in the fact that she had truly become a better cook.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Monika and Lecia Bake A Cake</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Monika and Lecia bake a fancy cake by the name of Cake Au Citron.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTFOgUcHsgM This video is where the general flow and idea of the chapter came to be from. I don't think it counts as copyright infringement, but I can definitely see it as categorizing me as somewhat unoriginal. Nevertheless I want you to enjoy it. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The late morning air was warm as it filled Lecia’s lungs as she followed behind Monika into her house. The duo had just come back from Amalthea’s shopping district, a reusable bag was filled with baking ingredients of all kinds. It was a general restock for Monika’s kitchen while also being preparation for their day off.</p><p>“I’m beat…” Lecia exhaustedly groaned as her shoulders slumped in the seat.</p><p>“We haven’t even started baking yet.” Monika set the bag on the counter and handed Lecia a cup of water. “You can settle in for a few minutes, but she would get baking soon. Not many times we get days off like this. Try to enjoy it, please?”</p><p>Lecia nodded absentmindedly. The two of them were able to have a day off due to a recent influx of peace caused by Gran’s crew staying in Amalthea for a few days. Lyria had urged them to take a load off while they handled things. Lecia remembered how quickly Monika accepted the day off and in turn strong armed her into taking the day off as well. Not working when she should have been made her feel vulnerable, like a fish out of water. She knew how much this meant for Monika though, so she didn’t make too much of a fuss about not being able to be at work.</p><p>The living room had a large window that more or less acted as a skylight with the sun bathing every bit of the room. Lecia tapped her foot as she watched a group of enforcers doing their daily exercise pass by. She was daydreaming a little bit until Monika slid something across the table.</p><p>“Focus up, Lecia. You get to pick what we are baking today.” Monika smiled softly. “The desserts are listed by category in the table of contents, pick something you like so we can get to baking.”  </p><p>“What if I pick something you don’t like?” Lecia’s question more so blurted itself out rather than leaving of her own volition. </p><p>Monika chuckled and grinned. “There isn’t a bad recipe in this book. yours truly has tried and tested them all!” She crossed her arms with a proud stance.</p><p>“You’ve had them all?! Are your teeth okay…?” Lecia’s eyes narrowed towards Monika’s mouth.</p><p>“M-my teeth are fine! I brush them for two minutes twice a day!” Monika responded back quickly with a flushed face. “I’m going to get the general ingredients ready, come to the kitchen when you’ve decided on something.”</p><p>While Monika was gone, Lecia thumbed through the book. Her first stop was the table of contents. She wasn’t generally as interested in desserts as her superior was, but she enjoyed sweets just enough to have her preferences. She immediately went to the section filled with the cakes and began to turn pages. Page after page was flipped until Lecia stopped on one that she hadn’t tried before. A fancy looking lemon cake named “Cake Au Citron”.</p><p>“Monika, I’ve decided on what we’re gonna bake.” She stepped into the kitchen with the book in tow.</p><p>“Lets see.” Monika took the book and nodded with approval. “Good pick! I think I have some lemons left over from the last time I made this recipe.”</p><p>“How long ago was that?” Lecia’s eyes looked towards Monika with curiosity. </p><p>Monika paused for a second, her finger tapped her chin. “About three months ago, lemons can stay good for a long time if you take proper care of them, and by proper care I mean freezing them.”</p><p>“Oh I see, that’s good to know. Do you do anything else with the lemons?” Lecia leaned against the kitchen counter.</p><p>“Sometimes I like to make lemonade, but it can sometimes be a little sour for my tastes. You know me.” Monika grinned as she retrieved the lemons from their bed of ice in the refrigerator.</p><p>Lecia glanced at the lemons. They looked as yellow and ripe as the day they were harvested. “Don’t we need to thaw these out?” She reached for the bag and felt them. The lemons looks made them appear soft but the feeling of coldness and the weight of a rock betrayed that notion. </p><p>“Mhm, but while that happens, we can prepare the rest of the ingredients. It shouldn’t take longer than 10 to 15 minutes,” Monika stated.</p><p>Lecia nodded and set the lemons into a wooden bowl of water prepared by Monika for them to thaw in. With their trip to the shopping district being so recent, all of the ingredients were easily on hand.</p><p>Pastry flour, sweetener, milk, oil, and baking powder all rested upon the counter. Lecia eyed them all. They were notably higher quality than she had ever baked with, she wondered if Monika always went this far with the ingredients.</p><p>Monika explained what each ingredient would be used for. The in-depth explanation was lost on Lecia’s mind as she peaked out the window and spotted another group of enforcers doing their duties. An odd twinge of jealousy mixed with anxiousness arose. </p><p>“Lecia, did you get all of that?” Monika snapped a finger at her entranced junior staring out of the kitchen window.</p><p>“H-huh? No…” Lecia replied, somewhat dejected. </p><p>“It’s not a big deal Lecia. It can be a lot to unpack if you don’t bake often,” Monika spoke reassuringly. “Flour keeps the cake from being crumbly, the oil keeps it moist, milk makes it feel nice in your mouth, and I think baking powder and sweetener are self explanatory. Is that better?” Monika pointed towards each ingredient as she explained it’s purpose.</p><p>“alright! I think I understand now,” Lecia remarked with a cheery grin.</p><p>“Alright, let’s check on these lemons and get to work. You ready for the best cake of your life?” Monika’s tone turned into a playful seriousness one could only achieve when talking about something so relaxing as baking a cake as if it were a monumental task. </p><p>Lecia gave a firm nod, going along with the outrageous seriousness. It took her mind off of the want to go back to her post. Her attention was slowly drawn towards the lemons.</p><p>They had been defrosted for a little while now as Monika picked the bag out of the bowl. She opened it, releasing the airtight seal on the bag they fell out one by one with dull thuds onto the cutting board. Lecia reached her hand out and felt one. The looks finally matched the feeling as it gave a little way under her thumb when applied pressure. </p><p>“Do you wanna cut the lemons?”</p><p>Lecia nodded, something that was interactive finally presented itself. She eagerly accepted the knife from Monika. </p><p>Her attention was turned towards the lemons now. The oval-shaped yellow orbs rolled around ever so slightly as Lecia took one in her hands, and placed it on the cutting board. Each end of it was held as Lecia brought the knife down vertically. She felt a hand on her shoulder as she did so.</p><p>“Am I doing something wrong…?” Lecia looked confused as Monika nodded.</p><p>“When cutting a lemon you’re about to juice, you should think of the juicer you’re going to use.” Monika pointed towards the citrus juicer off to the side. “Something cut vertically like that isn’t gonna really fit well on the juicer when it’s shaped like that.” For further effect, Monika took the juicer and gave a demonstration.</p><p>Lecia had never thought too much about how she juiced her citrus fruits. It was very apparent to her that Monika. She nodded after processing the information Monika had given her and adjusted her cutting style to be horizontal. The knife came down in one swift, uninterrupted motion. A satisfying chop filled the kitchen while the two lemon halves fell off of the knife. Their insides shone with liquid gold. The act was repeated a few times until all of the lemons required had been chopped into halves.</p><p>With all of that done and out of the way, they had to be juiced. Lecia didn’t need any direction for this step, the obvious equation was finished swiftly, and she was rewarded with a measuring cup filled partially with lemon juice. The halves were cut into smaller pieces, eventually ending up as little strips of white and yellow. </p><p>“Do you want the cake to have a little bite?” Monika brought the book over to Lecia.</p><p>Her finger was pointed towards an addendum at the bottom of the page which regarded the whites under the peel. It explained that a bitter taste could be removed, should they be taken off of the peel.</p><p>“A cake with bite sounds like a horrible idea. Can we remove the white part?” Lecia spoke with a groan at the idea of eating a bitter cake.</p><p>“Well, you know me, so of course we can!” Monika replied in a cheery tone while setting the book down to the side.</p><p>After the white parts had been cut away the rest of the peels were dropped into a pan with edges going upward as if it were a bowl. The sweetener followed suit. It looked as if someone had barged into the house and poured a few scoops of sand from Auguste’s beach into the pan. Despite this odd look, Lecia knew it would turn out well. Water was added and they turned the stove on to let it simmer, occasionally stirring it around with a wooden spoon.</p><p>“I was thinking we could make two separate small cakes.” Monika pulled two tins that looked like they were originally used to bake bread.  </p><p>“That sounds like a good plan. I can bring whatever I don’t eat home with me for a little snack,” Lecia smiled softly at Monika’s suggestion. </p><p>Monika nodded and set her cake tin down next to a roll of parchment paper. What happened next could only be described as a glimpse of expertise at work in Lecia’s mind. </p><p>Monika flipped the tin onto its side a few times on the parchment paper, using kitchen sheers to cut a little bit ahead of where the tin landed on the last flip. It was placed into the middle of the sheet, where she then pressed each side up to it, causing it to take on the form of each side it was pressed against. The sheet was folded a few more times after the tin had been taken off of it. The corners had been creased against each other, placed into the tin, and snipped. The snipped sides folded neatly over the rim of the baking tin and provided an easier way to lift out the cake when it was done baking.</p><p>Monika wiped her brow and looked over to Lecia, who was awestruck. </p><p>“D-don’t stare at me like that. All I did was fold the parchment paper for the tin. It’s nothing big,” Monika attempted to downplay her own skill out of what Lecia thought was embarrassment.</p><p>“Yeah, you did! Except your speed for it was inhuman!” Lecia responded back with a tone full of amazement. “That was amazing!” The praise escaped her lips while she attempted to reconstruct the sequence in her mind to no avail.</p><p>Monika looked away slightly. “Just don’t be reckless with this part. I don’t think you bake as much as I do, so it might be harder to use kitchen sheers that fast. I don’t want you to get hurt.” She moved her tin to the side and let Lecia take her spot at the counter.</p><p>“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t even dream of it,” Lecia responded with a chuckle. “We might use swords, but I am very afraid of messing up when using scissors and kitchen knifes. A tour de force like that is something I can only imagine doing.” </p><p>Lecia took the simple approach to making the tin have easy access to remove the cake. She took a large sheet of parchment and pressed it down into the tin. With the space of where the cake was going to be covered, she cut it where it was no longer needed and was content with her simple work. Maybe one day she would try the odd origami method Monika used. Without the blinding speed.</p><p>“What’s next?” Lecia rolled up, and put away the parchment paper.</p><p>“Well,” Monika picked up the recipe book. “We need to assemble all of the ingredients to make the batter. Sounds easy enough, right?” Monika grinned, her hand gesturing towards the ingredients needed.</p><p>Lecia grinned as well, “This is gonna be the easiest part, aside from eating the cake.”</p><p>Monika laughed and nodded in agreement. The two began to prepare themselves for a playful blitzkrieg on adding in the last set of ingredients.</p><p>Monika was first at bat with a bottle of oil. She held it over the bowl for a few seconds with a heavy hand, it’s contents forming a consistent flow all the way into the bowl where it slowly pooled over the peels.</p><p>Lecia came in as soon as Monika removed herself from the space in front of the bowl and poured in the saved lemon juice. The lemon juice had no trouble pouring from the lip on the cup as it landed into the bowl. The familiar, almost nostalgic view of the odd bubbles forming due to the mixing of oil and another liquid filled Lecia’s view. Monika came in swiftly however and replaced those bubbles with the white splatter of milk. With all of the liquid ingredients added into the bowl it was time to move onto the dry ingredients.</p><p>Sweetener fell from the bag once again, a mountain of it forming. This time however it was built atop the lemon juice and milk concoction which caused the wet sand look to spread even quicker than before as if it were some viral game of tag. </p><p>Things slowed to a halt however as Monika gasped. Lecia’s head instantly turned toward Monika’s position with concern. </p><p>“I-is something the matter?” She blurted out, not noticing anything obviously wrong.</p><p>“I forgot to put the flour through a sieve…” Monika’s shoulders slumped.</p><p>“A sieve?” Lecia tapped her finger against her chin.</p><p>Monika gestured towards a small metal utensil that looked like a net. “You put flour through this to get rid of the clumps. You know how some people pan for gold with those weird machines that have screens on them?”</p><p>Lecia nodded. She had seen a few of them during her travels. Even recalling one time she played with one as a kid when she ‘found’ gold.</p><p>“Same principle. Except the gold here is flour that doesn’t clump up,” Monika spoke casually while she placed the sieve atop a small bowl. “Can you pour the flour into it? I’ll do the shaking.”</p><p>“You got it.” Lecia hoisted the heavy bag of white powder above the bowl and poured tiled it, shaking it ever so slightly to get small amounts out of it.</p><p>The process was completed fairly quickly as Lecia watched Monika shake the sieve as if she were some child playing with a rag doll. The sight was somewhat hilarious and cute in some aspect but also concerning in others. She wondered if bakers had exceptional upper-body strength due to all of the arm movement involved in the process.</p><p>“Do you do this for everything that involves flour?” Lecia asked as the bag plopped down onto the counter top.</p><p>“Yeah, but it is just something I like to do though. I’m not sure if it adds anything to things other than baked goods,” Monika said.</p><p>A small amount of baking powder was added to the sifted flour, which was dumped into the bowl with all of the other ingredients. </p><p>The white blanket that covered the top of the bowl was disrupted as Lecia moved a spoon through it. Stirring all of the ingredients together had fallen upon her since Monika had talked about her arms being tired. It seemed like a fair trade. With every complete rotation around the bowl, Lecia could see it start to become a thick batter. It wasn’t before long that it was complete, and all that there was left to do was put the tins into the oven.</p><p>Lecia relaxed and was able to help herself to tea with Monika after setting the tins into the oven. The anxiousness of wanting to do something slowly faded away as the tastes of fruity tea and chats she and Monika ate away at the time. </p><p>The sound of the timer going off marked the end of the conversational period, along with the start of the excitement bubbling within Lecia. The pair got to their feet and made their way into the kitchen. Oven mittens were donned, and cake tins removed from the oven. </p><p>After the cakes had cooled in front of a window on the counter, Lecia and Monika reached for their respective tins. Slices of lemon cake soon rested on ornate plates that had a matching teacup counterpart.</p><p>“The moment of truth is here, how do you think we did?” Monika looked over at Lecia, it seemed as if she were about to burst from excitement.</p><p>“Hmm...” Lecia trailed off. She thought for a moment while reflecting on the past hour. “I think we did great! Look how delicious it looks,” Lecia spoke while pointing towards their plates.</p><p>“You’re right! I even think this looks better than when I made it myself! Having a second set of hands makes everything go by a little bit faster y’know?” Monika shared the sentiment while grabbing her fork.</p><p>Lecia felt as if she were some kind of predator sizing up her prey as she picked a piece to start with. She glanced over at Monika who was undoubtedly doing the same.</p><p>“You look like you’re about to eat it all in one bite Monika,” Lecia joked with a smug grin on her face. </p><p>“That is why I cut it into pieces. Not all of them will fit on this fork,” Monika returned with her own grin.</p><p>With a side of fruit flavored tea, the two began to eat their homemade dessert. Lecia smiled as the flavors and texture registered on her tongue. The cake itself was soft and delicious and practically fell apart within her mouth. The bits of caramelized lemon peel added an explosive sweetness to every bite along with a nice contrast to the soft cake by still giving something to chew on. A piece of the top found its way onto Lecia’s fork and she was pleasantly surprised by another texture change. It was crispy! With it being the top part of the cake and having the most exposure to the heat source it was natural that it would become a brittle and delicious piece to top the soft and chewy cake. </p><p>They ate in silence. Lecia didn’t say a word due to how wonderful the cake was, and she assumed it was the same case for Monika. Her stomach was full of delight as she finished the slices of cake she placed on her plate. After it was all eaten though, a lively chat began.</p><p>“Did you try taking a bite from the top of it?” Lecia asked first as she pointed towards Monika’s plate.</p><p>“I did! The way it crunches whenever I eat it still surprises me. If you told someone that the top would be a layer of crunchy goodness like that; they probably wouldn’t believe you,” Monika beamed back at Lecia. “I really love how it falls apart in your mouth, I don’t like it when I have to keep chewing forever when eating something.”</p><p>Lecia nodded with understanding as she sipped her tea. The warm flavor of earl grey went well with the aftertaste of the lemon cake. She and Monika continued to discuss more and more things about the cake until it had seemed like anything they said would have just been rehashing the same points.  </p><p>Lecia was happy she had taken the day off with Monika. If not, she definitely would not have been able to eat such a delicious cake or have the wonderful assortment of tea that Monika kept in her home. With more than half a day left for them to do whatever they pleased, she knew the rest of the day would be a wonderful memory</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Pumpkin Spice Latte</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sandalphon makes pumpkin spice lattes for Lyria, Vyrn, and Gran.</p><p>Recipe used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN_Uc80BXes</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Part of this fic is still in season, that being the pumpkin spice lattes. This was supposed to come out on Halloween but I got busy :(</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sandalphon! We’re back- Oh! Are you baking?” Lyria’s voice boomed throughout the Grandcypher’s kitchen as the door swung open and she stood in its frame.</p><p>Behind her stood Gran and Vyrn. All three of them dressed up in some sort of fashion. Gran and Lyria were dressed as a vampire and zombie respectively. Vyrn, on the other hand, was dressed up as a simple ghost. A bedsheet sat over his head with holes cut out so he could see and his wings could keep him airborne. </p><p>Sandalphon, dressed in the simple costume of wearing a witch’s hat, hurriedly attempted to cover the baking tray that sat before him covered with chunks of softened pumpkin. “N-no! Why are you guys back so early?” His face became flushed.</p><p>“It’s a bit chilly outside, so we wanted to come back and count up our candy!” Lyria flashed a bag filled to the brim with all kinds of chocolates and other teeth rotting sweets.</p><p>“Whad’ya mean you aren’t baking? Those look like the pumpkins you bought the other day,” Vyrn probed as he floated towards Sandalphon and attempted to inspect the tray. Looking somewhat like an actual ghost. </p><p>Nods came from Gran and Lyria who were now also making their way towards Sandalphon to try and see what he was hiding. </p><p>“Are you making pumpkin pie?” Gran’s hand reached for a small piece of the pumpkin.</p><p>Sandalphon promptly swatted it away and scooted the tray a little bit away. “Don’t touch this! It just came out of the oven,” He gave the cautious warning while slipping off some oven mitts, “I’m experimenting with making some of the coffee drinks the islands have to offer. Have you heard of a ‘pumpkin spice latte’?”</p><p>“Oh one of those? We had one at a cafe during out trick-or-treating!!” Lyria cheerfully declared.</p><p>“Wonderful. Then you’ll have a point of reference.” Sandalphon prodded at the chunks of pumpkin with the dull end of a knife to test their softness. Despite the dull end being completely unsharpened it slide right through as if Sandalphon had been using the side actually meant for cutting.</p><p>“Point of reference?” Vyrn asked, landing on Gran’s shoulder.</p><p>“Yes, I wasn’t just making this for myself. I thought as a treat I would let you experience what it is like to have such an interest in coffee,” there was a pause, “this holiday IS about giving treats and gifts out, right?” Sandalphon was unsure of himself, but he had hoped he had the right idea for the holiday.</p><p>“Not exactly gifts…” Lyria tapped her chin.</p><p>“It’s more about the treats. People don’t give each other candy normally, so that makes it a treat. You also don’t let us taste your coffee all the time, so it’s also a treat I suppose.” Gran closed his eyes and put his hand to his chin in an exaggerated thinking manner that Vyrn followed.</p><p>Sandalphon nodded as he listened along. His hands reached into the spice cabinet to gather the items needed for the next step while the pumpkin cooled itself down. A small jar was retrieved that read the simple label of ‘P. Spice Blend’. Having prepared a small amount of the spice blend prior a few days ago, Sandalphon needed only to take the container out and ready everything else.</p><p>“”I’m glad to know that I have understood the spirit of the holiday,” a smile crept upon Sandalphon’s face.</p><p>“You’ve been pretty good with learning about Skydweller holidays. Guess that’s the case when you spend all your time with them, huh?” Gran teased as he rested his arms on the island counter of the kitchen.</p><p>“I try my best.” </p><p>Idle chat held between the group continued as Sandalphon prepared the various parts of the drink.<br/>First was the pumpkin milk blend. The ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger of the highest quality that comprised the spice blend made their way into a pot of milk alongside the pumpkin chunks that had now been turned into puree.  After a little whisking the milk developed a beige color and a beautiful scent that filled the room with the smell of cinnamon and other pleasant on the nose spices. Vanilla extract and sugar were added for a little extra sweetness.</p><p>“Is this why you asked us for all of that spending money, Sandalphon?” Lyria asked, watching Sandalphon’s actions intently </p><p>“Maybe…” The primarch replied, averting his gaze while beginning the familiar process of making espresso. “The shopkeep told me they were of the highest quality, and that I would need a lot of money for them.” </p><p>“You could have asked Seirokarte. I’m sure she has something in stock for you, especially after all of the good you’ve done while riding with us.” Gran spoke while rubbing off the makeup from him and Lyria’s face. </p><p>“Purchasing the ingredients yourself makes the coffee taste better. Plus I had already asked you and Lyria for so much, I couldn’t use anymore ‘freebies’ as I have heard Vyrn call them.” </p><p>“Y-you could hear me!?” Vyrn roared.</p><p>“Of course I could. You aren’t exactly the quietest.” Sandalphon replied while pressing down the plunger of the coffee press.</p><p>Vyrn and Sandalphon's back and forth continued while Gran and Lyria laughed at the sight of the blanket covered dragon and witch hat adorned primarch. The kitchen slowly developed an atmosphere that was rich with comfort and wonderful smell of coffee and pumpkin.</p><p>WIth the tasting dawning upon them soon, Sandalphon rushed off to his room and returned with a large bundle of paper.</p><p>“What is this Sandalphon….?” Lyria pointed to his arms, curiosity bubbling in her eyes.</p><p>“I bought these for the tasting of the drink. With my own money I saved from being with you guys.” Sandalphon couldn’t help but be quick and to the point as he felt something bubble up within him.</p><p>When the wrapping paper came off, the trio’s faces were alight with what Sandalphon could only assume was glee. </p><p>Four ceramic mugs shaped like pumpkins sat on the table, all of them had their initials on them. One of them being much smaller than the others.</p><p>“Who’s this one for?” Vyrn picked up the smaller cup and inspected it.</p><p>“I think it’s yours, Vyrn. My cup has L on it, and Gran’s has G.” Lyria replied while pointing to the initials. </p><p>“What’s the big idea Sandy!?” Vyrn floated over to Sandalphon and got into his face.</p><p>“I didn’t think you were going to drink that much coffee! You’re a flying lizard!” </p><p>“I’m not a lizard!” </p><p>Vyrn and Sandalphon’s back and forth continued once more, only quelled by Lyria’s incessant pleading. Cups were filled with coffee and the pumpkin milk mixture, topped with whip cream and a slight dusting of the spice blend. It was time to taste the drink.</p><p>Sandalphon held the cup, his hands shaking a slight bit. Tasting something only he would be drinking was simple enough. The realization set in that he was offering his work to others when he hadn’t even perfected it; this was only his first try at making this drink. </p><p>He watched as the others brought the decorative mugs to their lips and began to drink. If there was any time that existed specifically for not backing down, he thought this might be one of them. With haste, the mug was soon up against his lips and he began to drink.</p><p>The hot coffee stung his tongue for a moment, but it soon registered a sweet flavor. The sweetness found in candy was not present; however, in its stead, was a balance of sweet and spiciness. All of the spices had come together in the blend and made for one delicious flavoring that made his eyes widen in surprise. There was also a beautiful fragrance to it. While not overpowering, a smell of pumpkin and spice filled the kitchen giving off a warm aura that acted as though it was the paragon of autumn. </p><p>One sipped turned into two, two to four, and so forth. Sandalphon had finished his mug of coffee in what he thought to be record time. Not used to the large amount of caffeine all at once, his foot started to tap on the ground.</p><p>“How was it?” He probed with an eager tone. </p><p>Lyria and Gran looked at each other, mugs still in hand, and nodded, then turned to Sandalphon. </p><p>“It tastes delicious!” They echoed out in unison before delving into their own compliments about the drink.</p><p>“I can taste the pumpkin! It also smells really good!” Lyria chirped before diving back into her mug for another sip.</p><p>“I really love how warm it is. There’s something about the spice that makes it feel very...cozy?” Gran spoke and put a finger to his chin before taking another sip. A nod came that confirmed his previous statement. </p><p>“And what about you, Vyrn?” Sandalphon’s attention was turned to the red lizard. </p><p>“It’s delicious! Much better than the stuff we had at that cafe. You’re a wiz with coffee Sandalphon,” Vyrn paused for a moment, his wings flapping a little faster than normal. “I think I had a little too much though…” </p><p>“Yeah… having too much caffeine will do that to you. I forgot to mention that,” Sandalphon chuckled softly, “I am glad you guys enjoyed it. I want to perfect this though. Gran, do you mind if I grow pumpkins aboard the ship?” </p><p>“Knock yourself out,” Gran smiled, “where are you going to keep them though?” </p><p>“I will figure something out. I have time before pumpkins go out of season still. Hopefully I can perfect it by then.”</p><p>There was an awkward silence in the room for a minute. Fearing that his perfectionism when it came to the caffeinated drink caused unease, he decided to break the ice. </p><p>“So, uh, did you guys get any candy?” He asked plainly. </p><p>Lyria’s face lit up and she nodded with fervor. A bag with an abnormal amount of candy was brandished to Sandalphon. Candies of all kinds laid at the top like the top of an island whose body was obscured by the clouds. </p><p>“Would you like to help me sort it all out, Sandalphon?” Lyria asked, picking off a candy and tossing it into her mouth after unwrapping it.</p><p>“Sure. It seems like that is also apart of the holiday, isn’t it?” </p><p>The trio nodded excitedly at the sign of Sandalphon’s willingness to indulge them. </p><p>“Wonderful. Let me clean these mugs and we can sort all of the candy you’ve collected.” Sandalphon smiled at the group and took their mugs. </p><p>As he cleaned out the initial marked mugs, Sandalphon felt happy. His craft had been appreciated by those closest to him. A sense of pride and joy swelled up inside of his heart before he left to go sort the sweet and tasty rewards reaped by Gran and Lyria.</p>
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